O’Reilly the poll topper in Edenderry

A first round total of 1,669 votes was more than enough to see Sinn Fein’s Martin O’Reilly elected on the first count to Offaly County Council in the Edenderry Electoral Area.

A first round total of 1,669 votes was more than enough to see Sinn Fein’s Martin O’Reilly elected on the first count to Offaly County Council in the Edenderry Electoral Area.

Having polled just 3.22% in 2009, the Sinn Fein candidate this time received just over 19% of the first preference votes.

Also elected on the first count was Fianna Fail’s Eddie Fitzpatrick who received 1,250 votes which coincidentally was the exact figure of the quota.

Former Fianna Fail Councillor and General Election candidate John Foley, now running as an Independent, was the main beneficiary of O’Reilly’s surplus and he passed the quota on the second count.

That left three seats remaining with Fianna Fail’s Noel Bourke being the only other candidate to reach the quota, which he did on the ninth and final count.

After that count both Fine Gael’s Liam Quinn and Independent Noel Cribbin, another former Fianna Fail Town Councillor, were also deemed to be elected. Edenderry native Cribbin was seventh up to the fifth count but a sizeable share of the transfers from Labour’s Declan Leddin propelled him into sixth place and he held that position to claim a council seat.

First Preference Votes

Martin O’Reilly (SF) – 1,669

Eddie Fitzpatrick (FF) – 1,250

John Foley (IND) – 1,078

Noel Bourke (FF) – 907

Liam Quinn (FG) – 668

Ger Plunkett (FF) – 667

Noel Cribbin (IND) – 633

Fergus McDonnell (IND) – 440

William Whittle (FG) – 336

Robert Kellaghan (FF) – 336

Stephen Carroll (IND) – 241